Meet Flow, A Programmable Wireless Controller to Replace Your Old Mouse
If the Indiegogo campaign goes right, this new startup aims to replace your desktop mouse for good. Flow, as simply as it is called, is a small gadget that can be paired with your PC, laptop, tablet and can be programmed with shortcuts to your most frequently used actions.
Created by a team of German hardware designers, Flow can be described as a ‘freely programmable wireless controller’ that combines hand gesture recognition, touch, and haptics in a mobile, hockey puck-shaped design. The idea is to take the core functionality of a traditional mouse and expand it to include much broader capabilities found in touch-based devices, video game controllers, and even motion-and-gesture sensors.
The device is made from aluminum and stainless steel with a durable polycarbonate touch surface and has a replaceable battery promising four months of charge according to its Indiegogo page. Its sensors enable infrared-based hand gesture recognition, 360-degree angular positioning, capacitive touch and luminosity.
Flow, according to the makers, offer support for more than 30 applications, including popular ones like Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, Premiere, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube. Flow has been described as a multiuse device which can be used as a traditional mouse with a PC but also to interface with mobile devices and even hung on a wall as a smart device controller.
At present, most of the information regarding Flow points at its usability with desktops or laptops, but the company also mentioned that there could be support for mobile applications in the future. It measures 70 mm in diameter and 15 mm in height, and ‘connects directly to anything that speaks Bluetooth Low Energy with no additional hardware required,’ according to its makers.
The designers have launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $50,000 in seed money. The ongoing campaign has already fetched $19,536 and there is still 40 days left for the campaign. The startup plans to release the product by 2016.
